Waiting for the Renaissance

It can be said that he gave a poetic direction to this year which, and at an expanded meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers on January 11 announced it as the year of structural and personnel reforms in Azerbaijan.

Quote: "We see that our management structure is greatly inflated. Today, the reverse process is taking place in the world - management is more compact, flexible, in order to carry out more focused work with a smaller number of employees. In our case, the control system swells up. This must end. Therefore, it is necessary to carry out a structural, personnel reform."

It is difficult to say whether Azerbaijan will succeed to step the path of the Renaissance with problems related to freedom of expression and thought, but in any case, the changes in the governance system of the country, which are longed for by the society, have matured, and Aliyev voiced them not by chance.

But there is a concern that in his speech the president, under conditions of change, at least in the customs and tax system, remained faithful to archaic statements about stability surrounded by instability.

Quote: "As you know, last year very different processes took place in various regions of the world, including our region, new risks and new threats arise. The conflicts that started in previous years, bloody clashes continue, stability is disturbed in many places, and mass protests are taking a wide scope. Against the background of this negative picture, the successes of Azerbaijan are manifested even more clearly. Azerbaijan is a country of development, progress, stability."

From this message it follows that the internal political course "controlled society" remains the same. This is also evidenced by his strengthened reproach to the international institutions that expect him to democratize public life. The president hinted at the double standards of the Western approach to Azerbaijan, reinforcing his previous criticisms by the Armenian factor. In his speech, he used the term "cognac diplomacy", which was traditionally used by the Armenian side in foreign policy and called on European institutions to investigate this phenomenon. Apparently Aliyev is trying to create a barrier as opposed to accusations against Azerbaijan in the use of "caviar diplomacy". He also indirectly blamed the West for cooperation with the previous administration of Armenia, which, according to him, did not have the support of the people and did not represent its interests. Here, you can also notice a hint at the creation of a barrier to Western criticism about the undemocratic regime in Azerbaijan, which is being formed from year to year as a result of undemocratic elections.

It was a move that he had not previously used. Typically, in the past, Aliyev appealed to the problem of violating the rights of a million Azerbaijani refugees as a defense against accusations of human rights violations.

At the same time, he cautiously and gently made a nod to the European Union, emphasizing the EU"s consideration of the principle of the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan. By this, he hints that further cooperation with Brussels on the issue of concluding an agreement on strategic partnership and signing it directly goes through the recognition of Azerbaijan"s position on the Karabakh settlement.

Quote: "Last year, an important document was signed between the European Union and Azerbaijan, entitled Partnership Priorities." Many issues area reflected in this document. I should especially emphasize that issues related to the Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict are becoming very positive. The document expresses support and respect for the territorial integrity, sovereignty of Azerbaijan, and the inviolability of our borders."

As for the conflict itself, which took the weightiest place in Aliyev"s speech, here the position remained the same - the de-occupation of Azerbaijani lands, which will be achieved by all available means, including the military.

Quote: "I have said many times, once again I want to say that there is one way to get Armenia out of this difficult crisis - the normalization of relations with Azerbaijan. We are ready for this. But this can be achieved, of course, under one condition - the Armenian armed forces must be withdrawn from the occupied lands."

The main question of the meeting, which was held under the title "the results of socio-economic development in 2018 and the upcoming tasks", still remained in the shadow. Less than two percent growth in GDP, secured by rising oil prices, left no room for a broad interpretation of government achievements, except that Azerbaijan moved to the 25th place in the World Bank"s Doing Business report. Such an assessment should be considered as a result of Aliyev"s declared reforms.